UNDERSTANDING STRATEGY

Introduction

There is substantial disagreement among practitioners, researchers and theorists as to

what strategy is. De Wit and Meyer (2004) note that “there are strongly differing
opinions on most of the key issues and the disagreements run so deep that even a
common definition of the term, strategy, is illusive. Yet, there is a need to conceptualize
what strategy is.

The earliest definitions were based on the army, because, the English word “strategy”
was derived from the Greek word “strategos” which means “an encamped army spread
out over ground”. Quinn (1998) remarks that initially strategos referred to the role of a
general in command of an army. Later it came to mean “the art of the general”, that is the
psychological and behavioural skills with which he occupied the role.

In the 5th century BC, strategy was seen as managerial skill (administration, leadership
oration and power). By the 4th century BC, in the time of Alexander, it referred to the
skills of employing forces to overcome opposition. Thus in 4th century BC, Aineias the
Tactician said strategy is how to survive under siege (quoted in De Wit and Meyers,
2004). Frontinus in the 1st century AD saw strategy as everything achieved by a
commander, be it characterized by foresight advantage, enterprise, or resolution (quoted
in De Wit and Meyers, 2004).

The concept of strategy in modern times will be revealed in the following definitions of
the terminology.
Twenty (21) definitions of Strategy

1. The determination of the basic, long-term goals and objectives of an

enterprise, and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources
necessary for those goals (Chandler, 1962).
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2. The formation of company’s mission, setting of objectives and the
development of actions to achieve the objectives (Sterner & Miner, 1977).

3. A position – specifically a means of locating an organization in what

organization theorists like to call an environment (Mintzberg & Waters, 1982)

4. Strategy is a pattern - specifically, a pattern in a stream of action.

(Mintzberg, 1978).

5. A strategy is a unified, comprehensive and integrated plan that relates the

firm to the challenges of the environment and which is designed to ensure that the
basic objectives of the enterprise are achieved through proper execution by the
organization (Glueck & Jauch, 1984).

6. Strategy is a major organization plan of action to reach major organizational

objectives. (Higgins & Vincze, 1989).

7. Strategy is general programs of action and development of resources to

attain comprehensive objectives Koontz and Weihrich (1988).

8. The program of objectives of an organization and their changes, resources

used to obtain these ideas and policies governing acquisition of these resources
(Koontz & Weihrich, 1988).

9. Strategies are the means by which long-term objectives will be achieved.

(David, 1989).

10. Strategy refers to top management’s plans to attain outcomes consistent with
the organization’s mission and goals. (Parnell, Kroll & Wright, 1996).

11. The organization’s plan or comprehensive programme for achieving its

mission and goals in its environment (Dubrin, 1997)

12. The principle that shows how an organization’s major objectives or goals
are to be achieved over a defined period (Lynch, 1997).

13. Strategy is the “game plan” management has for positioning the company in
its

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 chosen market arena, competing successfully, pleasing customers and
achieving good business performance. (Strictland, 1998).

14. A strategy is the pattern or plan that integrates an organization’s major goals,
policies and action sequences into a cohesive whole. (Quinn & Ghoshal, 1998).

15. Strategy is a plan - some sort of consciously intended course of action, a

guideline (or set of guidelines) to deal with a situation. (Mintzberg 1998).

16. Strategy is a series of goal-directed decisions and actions that match an

organization’s skills and resources with the opportunities and threats in its
environment. (Coulter, 1998)

17. Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long term:
which achieves advantage for the organization through its configuration of
resources within a changing environment to meet the needs of markets and to
fulfill stakeholders’ expectations (Johnson & Scholes, 1999).

18. Strategy is the plans, policies and cultures of an organization in a long- range
horizon (Weston & Weaver, 2001).

19. Strategy is a coherent, unifying, and integrative pattern of decisions that

determines and reveals the organizational purpose in terms of long-term
objectives, action programs, and resource allocation
priorities (Asika, 2004).

20. Strategy is a course of action for achieving an organization’s purpose (De

Wit & Meyer, 2004).

21. Strategy is a firm’s theory about how to compete successfully (Peng, 2009)

Conclusion

The gleanings from the insights reveal that strategy contains the following characteristics
or elements:
(1) Long-term focus
(2) Goal and objectives to be achieved
(3) Policies guiding or limiting action

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(4) Action required to accomplish defined objectives

The definitions implicitly give the idea that strategy involves a rational planning process
in choosing its goals, and allocates resources to implement the actions accordingly. The
role of strategy as an approach in dealing with change is also indicated.

S.E. Ifere, Ph.D.

If you wish to buy the books / Journals used, see the references below. Most of the books are available at
Waterstone’s bookshop, particularly the one domiciled at the London School of Economics and Political Science,
the Strand, between Kingsway and Fleet streets, London, WC2A 2AE.
Please note that there are text books recommended for the course by the dean, however, at the M.Sc level, any
relevant book is good for you.

REFERENCES

Asika, N. (2004) Business Organization and Management, Lagos: Mukugamu &

Brothers Enterprise.

Chandler, A.D. (1962) Strategy and Structures: Chapters in the History of the
American Industrial Enterprise, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Coulter, M. K. (1998) Strategic Management in action, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall

Inc.

David, F. D. (1989) Strategic Management, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.

De Wit, B., and Meyer, R. (2004) Strategy, London: Thomson learning.

Glueck, W.F., and Jauch, L.R. (1984) Business Policy and Strategic Management,
New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.

Higgins, J. M., and Vincze, J. w. (1989) Strategic Management: Text and cases,
Orlando: The Dryden Press.

Johnson G., and Scholes, K. (1999) Exploring Corporate Strategy, Essex: Pearson
Education Limited.

Koontz, H., and Weihrich H. (1988) Management, Singapore: McGraw-Hill

Book Co.
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Lynch, R. (1997) Corporate Strategy, London: Pitman Publishing.

Mintzberg, H. (1978) Patterns in strategy formulation, Management Science, 24:934-948

Mintzberg H., and Waters J. A. (1982) ‘Tracking strategy in an entrepreneurial

Firm’, Academy of Management Journal. Pp 465-99.

Quinn, R.E. (1998) Beyond rational management: mastering the paradoxes and
competing demands of high performance, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Quinn, J. B., and Ghoshal, S. (1998) The Strategic process, Hemel

Hempstead: Prentice-Hall.

Parnell, J., Kroll, M. J., and Wright, P. (1996) Strategic Management: Concept and
cases, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Peng, M.W. (2009) Global Strategic Management. Canada: Nelson Education Ltd

Steiner G., and Miner, J.B. (1977) Management Policy and Strategy: Tests,
Reading and Cases, New York: Macmillan Publishing Co.

Strictland, T. (1998) Strategic Management: Concepts and cases, New York:

McGraw-Hall Companies Inc.

Weston, J.F., and Weaver, S.C. (2001) Mergers and Acquisitions, New York:
McGraw- Hill Companies Inc.